Анджей Почобут. Фото из Facebook
Two meetings with Belarusian journalist, former political prisoner and activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andrzej Poczobut will take place in Lviv on November 8 and 9. The events were announced by the Polish Culture Centre in Lviv and the Borderlands Centre of the Ukrainian Catholic University.
The first meeting will be held on November 8 at 7 p.m. at the Polish Culture Centre in Lviv, at 30 Vynnychenko Street. According to the organisers, this will be Poczobut’s first visit to Lviv.
“This is a unique opportunity to meet in person and talk about freedom, solidarity, Polish identity and the price people have to pay for remaining true to their beliefs,” the centre said in a statement.
The project is funded by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the “Polonia and Poles Abroad 2026” programme.
The second meeting will take place on November 9 at noon at the Ukrainian Catholic University, at 2A Kozelnytska Street, in the K2 Student Centre. The event is titled “Ukraine Under Pressure: Do Independence and Democracy Have a Chance to Withstand the Challenges of the Modern World?”
“The meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the struggle for freedom, the price of independence, the experience of resisting authoritarianism and the challenges facing Ukraine, Belarus and the democratic world today,” the organisers said.
The meeting will be moderated by Alina Rudzina, a volunteer and representative of the Belarusian community in Lviv.
The event is organised by the Borderlands Centre of the Ukrainian Catholic University in cooperation with the Polish Culture Centre in Lviv and the Foundation for the Support of Poles in the East, with the participation of representatives of the local Belarusian community.
Andrzej Poczobut is a Belarusian journalist of Polish origin. He was released in the spring of this year as part of a five-for-five prisoner exchange conducted by Poland and Belarus, with the United States also involved in the process. Upon his release, Poczobut received assurances that he would be able to return to Belarus. In early September, he made a week-long trip to the country, where he met with relatives and activists of the Union of Poles in Belarus. He said he intended to return to Belarus permanently in December.